Let it Be in Zero G
by Roguie
Summary: Could Zane really have walked away from Henry's off hand comment without making an effort to experience it with Jo?   Or did he just get to work on it behind the scenes…
1. Chapter 1

Title: Let it Be in Zero G 1/3

Author: Roguie/ SunSpecOps/ Danae Bowen

Fandom: Eureka

Pairing: Jo/Zane

Rating: M/ NC17 (Pt 1 - G, Pt 2 - NC17, Pt 3 - Strong T to Mild M)

Spoilers: Up to One Time at Space Camp, at least.

Warnings: Explicit het sexual situations. Not safe for work.

Summary: Could Zane really have walked away from Henry's off hand comment without making an effort to experience it with Jo? Or did he just get to work on it behind the scenes…

Disclaimer: Eureka doesn't belong to me, I just like to borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: Smut that got way too plotty. Damn Jo and her endless questioning of Zane's every motive. Damn Zane for being a guy. In other words: they wouldn't shut up and ruined their own happy ending. :/

A/N2: I am not a science girl. Google is God, yes, but I'm REALLY not a science girl. The 2S really does exist though. All the other science, yeah, there's a reason this is called Science Fiction… just so you know.

~~~E~~~

Part One of Three

~~~E~~~

She really shouldn't have been surprised when he came towards her, one brow lifted, his eyes dancing in that way only Zane Donovan could manage. His lips turned upwards when he saw her and he lifted a hand in greeting, dropping it quickly when she took notice of the harness dangling from his fingers.

"S'up, JoJo?"

She lifted a single eyebrow, trailing her gaze up from the harness, across the white tank top that demanded attention paid to his biceps, all the way up to the mischievous dance of his blue eyes.

"Hmm. Do I want to know?"

His grin grew wider. Before she could step away he was in her personal space, his free hand finding her waist unerringly, pulling her towards him so that he could lower his lips to her ears. "We've got an appointment, you 'n me. Fargo got his hands on a new flight suit design, we've got to go in for… a fitting." His last words were whispered, forcing a shiver to run down her spine, heat flushing her face without warning.

She narrowed her eyes as she stepped out of his hold, cocking her head to the side. "It's late, Zane. Everyone's gone home, and I'm going with them. A flight suit fitting can wait until morning."

Again his grin flashed, white teeth, perfect lips, that look that stalled her heart no matter how hard she fought. "C'mon, Jo, I had to pull in a few favours to get this done tonight."

She frowned, a sharp laugh escaping her lips. "What favours? No one owes you any."

He shrugged. "While you were busy playing the Enforcer, I was busy making friends." He winked. "Trust me, would you, JoJo?"

She sighed. He was impossible. This was impossible. Their entire god forsaken existence was impossible and yet she couldn't stop herself from turning as he did, following him to the elevator that took them down far below the surface of the earth to where all the components of the Astraeus mission were being held. He stopped at a door, punching a code into the panel and watching as it opened before them.

"Everything you need is in the right locker." He winked at her. "Since a proper fitting of this suit means you take everything off," he paused, his lips tugging up into a grin, "I'll be in the next room. Meet me at 14B when you're ready."

Her frown deepened. "You're giving me privacy? Now I know you're up to something."

He leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss, lifting a hand to run his thumb over her throat softly before backing away. "I said to trust me, JoJo. I mean it."

She swallowed thickly before backing away, entering the room, letting the door slide shut behind her before turning to the locker he'd indicated. A part of her mind scoffed, expecting pieces of black and red lace to drop out of the cabinet, something small and body conforming, something to make his mouth go dry, his mind to melt, something to force his heart to beat out of his chest. That same part of her frowned in disappointment when the door clicked easily open, revealing the white jump suit hanging innocently on the rack within.

She picked up the suit gingerly, noting the label within that read 2S, and she frowned. Nothing at GD was ever named so simply, it was barometric this, isolinear that, nothing so incredibly dull as 2S. Still suspicious, she glanced quickly around the room, checking for cameras or any other small recording device that Zane could be using to spy on her as she stripped down, not that it would have mattered, naked was no longer an issue between them, but she'd toed the line on the "Just Friends" rule firmly and wouldn't put it past him to push the limits she'd imposed.

She found nothing, however, and sighed. Her pantsuit dropped to the floor easily, her blouse followed, and then her tank, leaving her standing in the cold room clad in just two small scraps of pale, pink lace. Pink. What had possessed her to wear pink lingerie under all the black today, she couldn't say, but her eyes flicked to the door suspiciously, just in case. After a moment, when Zane failed to appear as she expected, another sigh flew past her lips and she stripped out of the lingerie that she refused to admit she wore just in case. Just in case those blue eyes pinned her in place and froze her breath in her throat. Just in case his hand trailed down her back, resting just above her arse, one finger trailing dangerously low as he grinned at her in what anyone else would believe was complete innocence. Just in case Zane happened to corner her in a deserted hallway and whisk her away to an empty lab for a mid-afternoon tryst.

Except it was closer to eight at night and there didn't seem to be any plans for a tryst.

As she pulled the roomy jumpsuit over her caramel flesh, she took notice of the straps of Velcro holding panels of fabric to her body, and what appeared to be belt loops across her front, back and hips even though the suit didn't appear to come with a belt. She frowned slightly in confusion, poking at the reams of Velcro realizing that the entire front of the suit basically came away with a single good tug. She laughed to herself, wondering if the design came about from a scientist's night out at a strip bar. She wouldn't put it past them. This was Eureka after all.

Tugging the suit into place, she made her way out of the lab and down the cold metal hallway towards room 14B. When she got there however, the door was secured and the lock beeped quietly in denial of her security code. She frowned, turning to walk away when it whisked open behind her and Zane's arms came quickly around her waist, pulling her back into the room.

"Not so fast, Lupo. One little delay and you try to escape?" His tongue ticked the back of his teeth as he shook his head even as she heard the laughter in his voice.

Pushing him away, she turned and forced a mock glare, glancing back at the control panel with a raised eyebrow. "Care to tell me why my security clearance didn't open this door?"

He grinned. "This lab is all mine for the night. We'll have no interruptions; for twelve hours, my code is God."

Her eyebrow lifted higher. "So, no chance of getting caught in a compromising position then, hmm? Doesn't that… I don't know, take the fun out of it for you?"

His eyes flashed something unreadable, his normal icy blue gaze turning to steel. "You still think so low of me?" Jo instantly regretted her words, turning herself in his stiffened arms to reach up and trail her fingers lightly along his jaw.

They'd never been good at this, this talking thing, not in any timeline.

"I'm not that guy anymore, JoJo."

Not which guy? Not the guy she fell in love with two years before? Not the guy who worked his way under her skin no matter how hard she fought? Not the guy who so easily garnered her forgiveness no matter what he'd done?

Or something more simple?

Not the guy she'd met only a few short months before? Not the guy who teased her and tormented her? Not the guy who pushed her and broke her? Not the guy who met her in closets, made love to her on desks?

It was a heady realization when she finally understood. Standing before her was a Zane she didn't really know at all.

She sighed. "I know." The just friends line demanded she back away, put some distance between them as he unveiled what had given him such pride. The magnetic draw that hadn't dissipated through time, however, kept her where she stood. Her fingers trailed from his jaw down his neck, curling just right at his hairline to pressure his head down to her own, to encourage his lips to cover her own in a kiss so gentle and loving that a soft whimper escaped her before he backed away.

He smiled down at her as the tension eased between them and he spun them to face the lab, his arm swinging out with a flourish. "Welcome to GD's Zero-Gravitational Modulator."

"Zero Gravitational Modulator?" Jo smirked. "Thought Zero-G simulators were just science fiction."

He laughed sharply, pulling her into his arms before moving towards the control panel to the left of the room. "And you've lived in Eureka how long?" He punched in a series of codes and the machine in front of her began to whirr and spin, a loud whine filling the room as the metal ball moved faster than her eyes could follow. "It's a prototype of course, something we've been working on for months. Fargo didn't figure we'd get it done in time for the Astraeus training program," he winked, "So when I stuffed him in it yesterday, proving the thing works exactly up to spec, he had no choice but to give me what I asked for."

Jo laughed, pride for the man in front of her radiating in the shine of her eyes. "And what did you ask for?"

He shrugged, punching in another series of codes, watching as the prototype wound down. "My code is God, remember?"

Jo blushed from root to tip as his words sunk in and her gaze travelled between Zane and the prototype warily. "You asked… he gave… you 'n Fargo came up with… ZANE!"

He chuckled, reaching out for her hand, pulling her towards the prototype. He punched his code into the tablet in his hands and the door opened obediently. "Yes, I asked to use the prototype for personal reasons. Yes, Fargo gave me permission to do what I like for twelve hours. No, we didn't discuss the details because I didn't want him to renege and force me to break in here tonight. And don't take that tone with me, Josephina." She relaxed slightly, punching him in the arm even as he pulled her through the door, sealing first the outer layer, and then the inner layer, leaving them in the dark spherical chamber. "Besides, this was more Henry's idea than Fargo's."

At her squeak of mortification, he punched another series of numbers into his tablet and the airlock hissed quietly, finalizing her understanding that she'd allowed Zane to lock them in a ball of metal at the heart of GD, and no one would come to rescue her.

"Great, now you're thinking at me in that tone of voice, would you relax?" She could almost hear his cocky grin as his tablet changed frames, illuminating them in the deep darkness. With a few finger strokes, the pot lights that peppered the entire sphere illuminated, filling the room with a soft glow, almost starlight. "How do you feel about dinner?"

She fought the tug of her lips, fought the romantic atmosphere, fought that damned pull between them that made him work just that much harder for her attention. "Do I have a choice?"

"We all have a choice, JoJo. Stay or go, I'm just offering."

She didn't miss the double meaning of his words, but chose to ignore the olive branch he'd extended to her. "Offering what?" Her voice was hesitant, eyeing the man before her with careful caution.

He moved across the sphere to a bag he'd attached to one of the many eye loops that made up the interior structure. He pulled out a blanket, and several of Vincent's take away boxes, cocking his eyebrow up as he settled into laying out dinner.

"Nothing complicated, just a meal."

She coughed in surprise, now thoroughly confused. "You bribed Fargo for twelve hours in a prototype zero gravitational simulator to take me to dinner? What, Café Diem wasn't good enough for you?"

"Café Diem's great, but aside from the food, no, it'll never be good enough. This isn't a simulator, it's a modulator. A simulator is something fake, only giving you the impression of what you're trying to achieve. A modulator actually alters the environment without permanently changing the original characteristics, giving you the exact experience of what you're trying to achieve. And before you ask about the dynamics of eating dinner in zero g, that part's for dessert."

Of course it was. What had Henry gotten her into?

~~~TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Let it Be in Zero G 2/3

Author: Roguie/ SunSpecOps/ Danae Bowen

Fandom: Eureka

Pairing: Jo/Zane

Rating: M/ NC17

Spoilers: Up to One Time at Space Camp, at least.

Warnings: Explicit het sexual situations. Not safe for work.

Summary: Could Zane really have walked away from Henry's off hand comment without making an effort to experience it with Jo? Or did he just get to work on it behind the scenes…

Disclaimer: Eureka doesn't belong to me, I just like to borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: Smut that got way too plotty. Damn Jo and her endless questioning of Zane's every motive. Damn Zane for being a guy. In other words: they wouldn't shut up and ruined their own happy ending. :/

A/N2: I am not a science girl. Google is God, yes, but I'm REALLY not a science girl. The 2S really does exist though. All the other science, yeah, there's a reason this is called Science Fiction… just so you know.

~~~~E~~~~

Part Two of Three

~~~~E~~~~

She had to admit, dinner had gone surprisingly well. They'd eaten, laughed, talked about her, talked about him. It was odd and comforting at the same time, watching as for a small period of time, Zane let the walls he'd built fall for her. She couldn't help but do the same, offering him the most honesty he'd seen in her since Founder's Day and the day her heart had been put behind bars.

Now, several hours after this adventure into the unknown had started, Jo found herself laying on her back, her head resting on a pillow Zane had pulled from the same bag in which he'd hidden dinner. He lay beside her, facing her, propped up on his elbow as she looked out into the darkness illuminated by the small lights. He smiled down at her, his free hand moving to trail over her stomach, forcing tiny flutters of excitement to begin curling within.

She offered him a half hearted glare, but made no move to shift his fingers from their travels. Instead, she glanced down to where his index finger was slowly making it's way through the Velcro panelling covering her stomach. "So, what's the story with these flight suits?" She asked suddenly, distracting herself from the barest brush of skin on skin contact that set an instant fire alight in her veins.

"Hmm?" he queried quietly, but the twinkle in his eyes betrayed his knowledge of exactly what she wanted to know.

She cocked an eyebrow, her own lips pulling into a small grin of response. "What is a 2S?"

"It's a two suit."

"Okay?"

"Exactly what it says." That twinkle in his eyes exploded into a full burn of mischievous glee, and he couldn't keep his expression stoic. His lips curved, his teeth glinted in the low light, and for a single, glorious moment he looked every bit the part of the cat that caught the canary.

She growled softly, narrowing her eyes as her mind drew the lines together from the roominess of the suit to the placement of the Velcro strips. Still, she pushed, some small part of her taking pleasure in making him say exactly what he wanted. "You know how much I hate innuendo, Donovan, say what you're trying to say."

He regarded her silently for a moment, his eyes catching hers, ensuring that she'd already caught on before laying his life at her feet. "The 2Suit is a garment designed to facilitate sexual intercourse in weightless environments." His lips twitched. "Two… suit."

Her lips curled up, betraying her as she struggled to keep her annoyed expression in place. "So, getting me down here with a ploy about a flight suit fitting…?"

He chuckled softly, "Wasn't exactly a lie." He lowered his lips to her ear, taking her lobe between his teeth, nibbling softly before whispering. "If we're going to be in space for six months, JoJo, we really should take these suits on a test run, just to make sure they work, don't you think?"

He took the gasp of pleasure that escaped her lips as acquiescence, and pulled open the front of her flight suit, his eyes darkening in the dim light as he drank in the expanse of caramel flesh exposed before him. His fingers strayed up her body to stroke her breast softly, rolling her nipple between them as she closed her eyes, her hips arching upwards on a soft whimper.

"The only question is," he whispered softly, letting his tongue trail around the curve of her ear, delighting in the shivers that coursed through her body, "Do you want to do this the safe way… or the fun way?"

Her eyes opened for the barest of moments, drinking in the sight of him hovering over her, one brow lifted as he waited patiently for her response. "What's the difference?"

He shrugged. "We keep the suits on, seal ourselves together, secure one suit to the ground, turn on the machine and enjoy the experience." His fingers swirled around her nipple again, his eyes falling from her face to watch as it hardened and pebbled for him, his mouth going suddenly dry as he resisted the urge to bow his head before her and suckle her until she screamed.

"Or?" Came her response, rushed out on a gasp, breathier than she'd have wanted, but at the moment she didn't care.

He grinned. "Or, the suits come off, the machine turns on, and we wing it."

"That sounds more our style."

He watched in awe as she sat up, pulling the suit from her shoulders, arching as she pulled it down and off her body, tossing it to the side. Words failed him as she laid back down, rolling on her side to eye him pointedly. He struggled to find his voice as he lifted his fingers to his own flight suit, ripping it off, piling it with her own.

"Oh, my god, I think I love you, JoJo!"

He didn't see her freeze as he turned to grab his tablet from the edge of their blanket. He didn't see her hand come to her throat as he picked up their flight suits and the remains of their dinner, stuffing it all away in the bag he had secured to the wall. He didn't notice her brush away sudden tears as he picked up the harness he'd been carrying when they'd entered and latched it onto a free eye loop. When everything was ready and he turned back to her, she had carefully hidden away her reaction to his words, and when he reached for her, pulling her into his arms, lips capturing her own and immediately plundering her mouth with his eager tongue, he was aware only of her immediate reaction to his body flush against hers.

He turned them so that her back was pressed against the wall, his lips still pressed to hers even as his fingers slid down her arms, interlacing with her own, teasing them upwards, sliding them into the free rungs of the harness before she'd even noticed. A small frown etched her face as she realized she was effectively allowing him to bind her to the wall, and her eyebrow raised in question.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Lupo, it's not a kink, it's safety." His face broke into a huge grin, however, as he stepped back and admired his handiwork. "Not that you don't look goddamned sexy like that," he growled softly. "But that's a game for another night."

The tablet was once again removed from the bag, and he clicked a few codes into the open screen. With one last look at Jo, one last grin of appreciation at the picture she presented, he licked his lips, lifted his eyebrow and asked simply, "Ready?"

She curled her hands, bringing his gaze back to her binds. "You tell me."

"Yeah, you're ready."

He input the code for the start up sequence, set the delay for one minute, set the tablet in the bag and sealed it all down. When the last task was cared for he wasted no time in returning to Jo's arms, pressing the length of his body against hers, and slipping his own hands through her binds just as the room began to spin.

"Hold tight. Takes thirty seconds to stabilize the interior sphere."

He buried his face in her shoulder, she buried hers in his neck. He wrapped a leg around her, pulling her away from the wall in case the pressure against the cold metal became uncomfortable, she laced her fingers into his and held on tight. Thirty seconds felt like an hour as they waited, body to body, pressed together by a force more powerful than anything they'd ever felt until, suddenly, the pressure was gone and the air grew lighter around them.

"Take a second to adjust," he whispered, pulling free of the harness but keeping himself grounded to her with his legs.

Jo laughed out loud as her body began to float away from the wall, lifting both herself and Zane effortlessly. She pulled one hand free and reached for his face, stroking his cheek gently as she adjusted to the lack of anything holding her to the ground. With a hiss, little panels around the sphere opened and released tiny droplets of water into the air, droplets that surrounded them, breaking over their warm flesh with a splash of cool relief.

"What's that for?" she whispered softly.

"Heat regulation. The human body has issues regulating heat in zero g; I figured, you're hot enough as it is, JoJo, couldn't take the risk of passing out on you."

"Did you really design this for Astraeus, or did you somehow manage to get funding to find a creative way of getting me naked, again?" She grinned, batting him lightly on the shoulder, gasping as he tightened his hold on her to keep from drifting away. "Seriously, it's a lame question, I know, but how do we keep from, y'know… floating away from each other?"

His laughter wasn't directed at her question, but at the entire situation as he shrugged. "No clue. Never done this before, with or without the stupid suit." He winked. "Figured we could figure out the mechanics together."

Something in his words startled her, warmed her, brought about the biggest most honest smile he'd ever seen cross her face. He was hardly prepared for her to pull her second hand free and mould herself to him, her lips finding his with sudden urgency. Her fingers wound into his hair, her breasts pressed hard against his chest and as she wiggled she managed to shift them until her legs were wrapped around his waist, holding him tight against her burning heat. He gasped into her mouth, the sudden shift from teasing to purpose catching him by surprise, his body instantly reacting and hardening in response.

He supposed they could have been tender, he could have pushed her back, allowed his fingers to trail up the sides of her body, to tease and squeeze her breasts, to wring the moans and whimpers he loved to hear from her lips. He supposed they could have taken it slow, he could have reached between them and slipped his fingers into her damp warmth, sliding in her wetness, opening her gently while at the same time driving her over the precipice before they'd even begun. He supposed he could have done a lot of things differently as they breathed heavily in each others arms, floating in an orbit they'd created as he allowed her to devour him with lips, teeth and tongue.

She looked at him in surprise when he moved his hands to her hips, holding her steady as he slipped slowly into her molten core, opening her without preamble, joining their bodies in the most delicious of sensations. Still, that didn't stop him from taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth and nipping her softly. "Don't look at me like that, JoJo. I'm always hard around you. Always ready." He nipped her again, harder, feeling her clench around him as a tiny whimper escaped her lips. "You don't sound like you're complaining."

Never one to be outdone, Jo tightened her legs around him, forcing him deeper until there was no where left to go. She let her head fall back in pleasure, allowing a soft moan to escape her lips, causing him to shudder as he immediately fastened his lips to the pulse at her neck. The droplets of water in the air broke open on their flesh, little points of cool in an overheated environment, a pointed sensation that helped wring gasps and whimpers from her lips as he carefully withdrew from her before sliding in once more. As he moved, they turned in the air, an endless orbit of flesh moving amongst the floating water. At one point they bumped off the wall, increasing their spin which was unstoppable while he thrust into her repeatedly, his eyes closed, his nails digging into the flesh of her arse painfully as they merged.

She gave back just as eagerly, her nails digging into his shoulders until he was sure his blood mixed with the water surrounding them, her teeth finding hold on his collar bone, before he pulled a hand up her body, captured her jaw and forced her lips to his own. Their tongues battled an unending war, her teeth sank into his lower lip, his teeth repeated the action on her upper lip. He drank in her gasps and moans like they were oxygen, his own voice cracked and broken as she swallowed down his groans like water. There were no more words to share, no more thoughts to voice that couldn't be expressed through single syllable vocalizations that drove both their hearts to beat to the point of agony.

Lightening was building behind his eyes, hot, electric, snapping bolts of pure energy that forced him to pull from her lips, that forced him to bury his teeth in her shoulder, biting past skin and into soft flesh, marking her, possibly permanently as his own even as the tiny shot of pain ripped a scream from her throat and forced her to tighten painfully around him.

It was all he needed.

The pressure building inside him released in a single moment of white heat, blinding him, the guttural groan that escaped him surprising them both as he released into her, teeth and nails tightening harder, blood and water crashing into and breaking over their flushed flesh. That one moment lasted an eternity as he released into her again and again, their orbital spin out of control from the force of his thrusts, but neither could bring themselves to care.

~~~TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Let it Be in Zero G 3/3

Author: Roguie/ SunSpecOps/ Danae Bowen

Fandom: Eureka

Pairing: Jo/Zane

Rating: M/ NC17

Spoilers: Up to One Time at Space Camp, at least.

Warnings: Explicit het sexual situations. Not safe for work.

Summary: Could Zane really have walked away from Henry's off hand comment without making an effort to experience it with Jo? Or did he just get to work on it behind the scenes…

Disclaimer: Eureka doesn't belong to me, I just like to borrow the characters and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue, my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse, but they're all I have.

A/N: Smut that got way too plotty. Damn Jo and her endless questioning of Zane's every motive. Damn Zane for being a guy. In other words: they wouldn't shut up and ruined their own happy ending. :/

A/N2: I am not a science girl. Google is God, yes, but I'm REALLY not a science girl. The 2S really does exist though. All the other science, yeah, there's a reason this is called Science Fiction… just so you know.

~~~~E~~~~

Part Three of Three

~~~~E~~~~

A month? A year? A minute? An era? He didn't know how much time had passed before his consciousness returned to his body, but it was long enough to drive them into the wall. He twisted quickly, ensuring his shoulder took the brunt of the hit, all the while without releasing the overly warm, jellied body of Jo in his arms.

They laid in their own bliss for long minutes, allowing the rocking of their gravity free environment to further relax their already boneless bodies. It was brilliant, really, floating after sex. She buried her head against his shoulder, starting another, slower spin that gave him leverage over her, allowing him full access to her perfect, swollen lips. He took his time now, the urgency gone as he drank from her, the hand that he allowed to trace over her damp flesh calming instead of arousing. It was only when she started drifting off that he sighed with regret, moving towards the wall, pulling her with him.

She looked up at him in confusion, her warm brown eyes capturing his in question.

"We're going back to my place, JoJo. I promised Fargo we'd be out of here before any of the techs got in in the morning. Can't risk falling asleep, as great as that sounds right now."

She nodded her understanding, slipping herself back into the harness against the wall as he retrieved his tablet from the bag. He turned, punched in his code, set the delay and turned back to her, cocking an eyebrow and giving her a grin.

"Yup, definitely a game for another time. Gorgeous."

She laughed with him, wrapping her leg around his hip as he kissed her softly, neither truly noticing the modulator powering down until they had full gravity and Jo's legs gave out on her. Zane had to admit the change in gravity was shocking, he used the harness to hold himself up while at the same time allowing himself to be used as a prop while Jo regained her own equilibrium.

He couldn't help himself, no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't.

"Tell me I didn't just bring the great Josephina Lupo to her knees?"

An eyebrow cocked in his direction and he had the good sense to step back, making as if he was retrieving their flight suits instead of protecting valuable body parts from potential dismemberment.

They dressed silently and Zane released the lock on the modulator, releasing them back into the lab area and then the hallway so they could get their street clothes. Five minutes and a hand through her hair had Jo shrugging in a mirror; sure it was past one in the morning and they may get a strange look from the guard on duty, but she looked acceptable. With luck, no one would question Zane's presence with her and they'd get out of GD without too many questions.

"JoJo, you're not working, at least let your hair down."

Before she could stop him he reached out and pulled the band from her hair, letting it fall in waves around her shoulders. He grinned, nodding in satisfaction.

"You should wear it down more often."

She studied his face for a moment, searching for any signs of a tease or comment to come, but instead she was met with stark honesty in his blue gaze. She swallowed thickly and smiled at him, lowering her eyes until she realized exactly how demure she must appear in that moment. Quickly she lifted her head, frowned, and moved towards the elevator.

The ride back to his place was uneventful. They didn't speak a word as he tossed the bag holding the remnants of their dinner into a corner and reached for her hand. It was too late for television, too late for dancing, hell, it was almost too late for talking as they moved to the bedroom and slowly began removing their clothing for the final time that night.

Jo was lost in thought as she removed her black suit jacket and pants, slipping out of her blouse and tank for the second time that night. Lost in the memory of words that were spoken without care, words that could either empower her or truly bring her to her knees when they were taken back.

He'd said he loved her.

Kind of.

Mostly.

In a guy way that probably didn't mean anything, at the very least it didn't mean enough for those words to be infused with the amount of power Jo was giving them.

She hid her eyes behind the veil of her hair, looking up to study him, taken aback when she realized his gaze was frozen on her, a look of awe breaking over his normally stoic face.

"What?" The word was sharp but without venom, and she instantly tried to soften it with a confused smile.

He swallowed heavily, his fingers stretching out towards her, palm upwards as his eyes raked over her body without shame.

She glanced down and immediately flushed from head to toe.

Pink lingerie.

Just in case.

He was at her side in a second, pulling her onto the bed, under him, straddling her thighs as he gazed down at her with blatant appreciation.

"What happened to just friends, JoJo?"

Her gaze darkened dangerously. "You're the one that started all this tonight."

"You weren't complaining." He lifted an eyebrow, reaching out to run his index finger carefully under the wire uplift of her bra. "And I'm not the one wearing little pink scraps of "how fast can I make Zane implode"?"

"I couldn't have known you were going to see it; this isn't by choice, y'know."

He growled softly, reaching down to nip at her nipple through the soft fabric. "You have no idea how mind blowing a sight you make in that. I mean… It's pink, JoJo!"

As she watched his brain melt, a slow smile spread across her face. Some things didn't change in any timeline. Her grin grew wider as she felt him harden against her, but when he leaned down to capture her lips, she put a hand on his chest. She had one question before she let this brilliant night go any further.

"Did you mean anything you said in the sim… modulator, tonight?"

He shrugged, looking down at her in confusion. "I usually mean most of what I say, Lupo. It's a given about me. Half the reason I get in so much shit, I guess."

She swallowed thickly, licking her lips nervously. "Okay, rephrase. Do you remember anything you said tonight?"

He shrugged again, offering her a gentle smile. "What's this about, JoJo?"

She sighed, "Nothing." He didn't resist when her fingers locked behind his head, pulling him down to her. He took great pleasure in removing the scandalous scraps of lace from her body, lips and fingers covering her where they'd left her bare. His heart exploded and his brain melted when he found himself inside her body for the second time that night, struggling to move at a slower pace, fighting his body to hang on until she tightened around him, coming apart in his arms, a single tear escaping her eyes, trailing down her cheek until it fell forgotten against her pillow. For the second time that night he found release within her, his body shuddering, drops of sweat falling from his temple to wash away any trace of the tear he'd seen fall, and even while he lay back with what he was sure was the stupidest grin of satisfaction on his lips, he searched his memory for what he may have said to break her one more time.

~~~E~~~

He'd been sound asleep, somewhere around four am, Jo snuggled tightly in his arms, her hair tickling his nose so sweetly that he couldn't be annoyed, when his own words came back to haunt him.

"Oh, my god, I think I love you, JoJo."

He winced.

Worst thing he could have ever said to the fragile creature that now slept in his arms.

He'd never meant those words at any point in his life. Oh, he'd said them, but he never meant them. She had to have known it had been the heat of the moment, caught up in the situation, they'd just slipped out.

Of course she knew. That's why she'd made with the questions. That's why the tears.

His jaw tightened and he pulled Jo closer to him, closing his eyes as he breathed in her welcome scent. Best to just ignore it, let it be, never mention it again until he could offer her those words and actually mean them. Maybe he would one day, but they had the Astraeus final interviews to get through and then the mission itself. Their future was too busy for something like love to get in the way.

His thoughts trailed to the what the immediate future had to hold for them. Six months on Titan with Jo Lupo.

He grinned.

This was so worth it.

~~~Fin


End file.
